Executive Media
Public Affairs Public Relations
Check our blogs!
What's newDavid Dawson
Guy Johnson
101 West Ohio Street
Suite 720
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
phone : (317) 231-7000
fax : (317) 231-7005
Tue, Apr 21 2009 04:41 PM
| 100 mpg, Bright Automotive, hybrid
| Permalink
100 MPH of Spin
Congratulations to Bright Automotive of Anderson, IN, which succeeded today in convincing much of the Washington, D.C.-based national media that it has developed a truck capable of squeezing 100 miles out of a gallon of gas. Indy Star headline: Anderson start-up unveils hybrid capable of 100 mpg
To be clear: it has not.
Bright Automotive has designed a light-duty truck with both electric and gas motors. When fully charged, the truck (according to reports from Washington today) can travel about 30 miles on electric power alone. At the 30-mile mark, the gas engine kicks in.
By 50 miles, the truck has consumed a half-gallon of gas. So for 50 miles, the truck has used gasoline at a rate of one gallon per 100 miles. That's the basis of the spin, and it's a good one. 100 miles per gallon is the Holy Grail of fuel economy and so whoever can claim it gets a lot of hoopla.
The argument, of course, completely ignores the amount and cost of the electricity to charge the truck's batteries. This is a little like folks who think they are saving money on their electric bills by using battery-powered devices. Figuring the cost of the power is completely speculative so far, since the available specifications do not reveal how much electricity is needed to charge the truck.
Unfortunately, when the truck goes beyond 50 miles in a day, it starts acting like a far more conventional vehicle, albeit one that benefits from aerodynamic design and high-strength, low-weight engineering. According to reporters who asked good questions, the truck that has consumed a half-gallon of gas going from 30 miles to 50 miles will consume another half-gallon getting to 70 miles. Now, the spin guys might say that means it gets 70 miles to the first gallon of gas, but that's misleading, too.
If we can assume that after the 70-mile mark the gas consumption continues at the same rate for the next 30 miles, the truck will burn another three-quarters of a gallon. That would be 1.75 gallons for 100 miles, which would divide out to 58 miles per gallon. That's nice, but hardly near the Holy Grail level. And if you consider the gas engine mileage alone, we're figuring 40 mpg.
What Bright Automotive has done is package the best that's been developed in fuel conservation for conventional vehicles and the best in battery technology. Good for them. And so far we don't know what they'll cost. But we do know they spin well.
Congratulations to Bright Automotive of Anderson, IN, which succeeded today in convincing much of the Washington, D.C.-based national media that it has developed a truck capable of squeezing 100 miles out of a gallon of gas. Indy Star headline: Anderson start-up unveils hybrid capable of 100 mpg
To be clear: it has not.
Bright Automotive has designed a light-duty truck with both electric and gas motors. When fully charged, the truck (according to reports from Washington today) can travel about 30 miles on electric power alone. At the 30-mile mark, the gas engine kicks in.
By 50 miles, the truck has consumed a half-gallon of gas. So for 50 miles, the truck has used gasoline at a rate of one gallon per 100 miles. That's the basis of the spin, and it's a good one. 100 miles per gallon is the Holy Grail of fuel economy and so whoever can claim it gets a lot of hoopla.
The argument, of course, completely ignores the amount and cost of the electricity to charge the truck's batteries. This is a little like folks who think they are saving money on their electric bills by using battery-powered devices. Figuring the cost of the power is completely speculative so far, since the available specifications do not reveal how much electricity is needed to charge the truck.
Unfortunately, when the truck goes beyond 50 miles in a day, it starts acting like a far more conventional vehicle, albeit one that benefits from aerodynamic design and high-strength, low-weight engineering. According to reporters who asked good questions, the truck that has consumed a half-gallon of gas going from 30 miles to 50 miles will consume another half-gallon getting to 70 miles. Now, the spin guys might say that means it gets 70 miles to the first gallon of gas, but that's misleading, too.
If we can assume that after the 70-mile mark the gas consumption continues at the same rate for the next 30 miles, the truck will burn another three-quarters of a gallon. That would be 1.75 gallons for 100 miles, which would divide out to 58 miles per gallon. That's nice, but hardly near the Holy Grail level. And if you consider the gas engine mileage alone, we're figuring 40 mpg.
What Bright Automotive has done is package the best that's been developed in fuel conservation for conventional vehicles and the best in battery technology. Good for them. And so far we don't know what they'll cost. But we do know they spin well.
Comments